Assemblée Générale Distr
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Nations Unies A/HRC/20/22/Add.3 Assemblée générale Distr. générale 30 mars 2012 Français Original: anglais Conseil des droits de l’homme Vingtième session Point 3 de l’ordre du jour Promotion et protection de tous les droits de l’homme, civils, politiques, économiques, sociaux et culturels, y compris le droit au développement Rapport du Rapporteur spécial sur les exécutions extrajudiciaires, sommaires ou arbitraires, Christof Heyns Additif Suite donnée aux recommandations adressées aux États-Unis d’Amérique* Résumé Dans le présent rapport, le Rapporteur spécial sur les exécutions extrajudiciaires, sommaires ou arbitraires analyse les mesures prises par les États-Unis d’Amérique pour donner effet aux recommandations formulées par le précédent titulaire de mandat qui s’était rendu dans le pays du 16 au 30 juin 2008. Si les États-Unis d’Amérique méritent d’être salués pour la situation positive en ce qui concerne les exécutions extrajudiciaires, il demeure trois domaines dans lesquels des améliorations importantes sont nécessaires. Ces domaines, exposés dans le rapport de mission (A/HRC/11/2/Add.5), sont le respect des garanties judiciaires dans les procès à l’issue desquels la peine de mort est prononcée, la transparence dans les interventions de police et les opérations militaires et de renseignement, et la responsabilité pour les décès qui pourraient résulter d’actes illicites, survenus dans le cadre des opérations internationales. * Le résumé du présent rapport est distribué dans toutes les langues officielles. Le rapport proprement dit est joint en annexe au résumé, et il est distribué dans la langue originale seulement. GE.12-12544 (F) 100412 160412 A/HRC/20/22/Add.3 Il faut donner acte au Gouvernement des mesures concrètes qu’il a prises pour mieux enquêter sur les décès de personnes détenues dans les centres pour immigrants et éviter que ne surviennent de tels cas. Toutefois, aucun progrès majeur n’a été fait en ce qui concerne les trois domaines prioritaires signalés dans le rapport de mission. Le Rapporteur spécial engage vivement le Gouvernement à mettre en œuvre à titre prioritaire les recommandations relatives à ces domaines. 2 GE.12-12544 A/HRC/20/22/Add.3 Annexe Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns Follow-up to country recommendations: United States of America Contents Paragraphs Page I. Methodology........................................................................................................... 1–4 3 II. Introduction............................................................................................................. 5 3 III. Domestic issues....................................................................................................... 6–38 4 A. Due process in death penalty cases................................................................. 6–28 4 B. Deaths in immigration detention .................................................................... 29–35 9 C. Killings by law enforcement officials............................................................. 36–38 10 IV. International operations........................................................................................... 39–84 11 A. Guantánamo Bay detainees ............................................................................ 39–44 11 B. Strategies to protect civilians and enhance transparency regarding civilian casualties............................................................................................ 45–56 13 C. Transparency and accountability for unlawful killings and custodial deaths .............................................................................................. 57–75 17 D. Targeted killings: lack of transparency regarding legal framework and targeting choices ..................................................................................... 76–84 21 V. Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 85–88 23 Appendix Summary of follow-up to each recommendation............................................................................. 25 GE.12-12544 3 A/HRC/20/22/Add.3 I. Methodology 1. In its resolution 17/5, the Human Rights Council urged States to cooperate with and assist the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, in the performance of his task, to supply all necessary information requested by him and to ensure appropriate follow-up to the recommendations and conclusions formulated by him, including providing information on the actions taken on those recommendations. 2. The Special Rapporteur concurs with the previous mandate holder on the importance of follow-up reports as critical components of country visits to investigate allegations of violations of the right to life. 3. In accordance with established practice,1 the present follow-up report concerns the recommendations made by the previous mandate holder, following his visit to the United States of America (AHRC/11/2/Add.5) in 2008. The Special Rapporteur requested information from the Government and other actors about the steps taken to implement the recommendations in the mission report and about the non-implementation of recommendations. In addition, information was sought on the current situation concerning extrajudicial executions in the country, particularly on whether and how the situation has improved, deteriorated or remained the same. 4. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of the United States of America for having provided information on measures taken to implement the recommendations contained in the mission report. He deems cooperation with governments important to the understanding and assessment of progress. The Special Rapporteur also wishes to thank to all stakeholders who contributed to the preparation of the present report. II. Introduction 5. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur analyses the steps taken by the United States of America in implementing the recommendations made by the previous mandate holder, following his visit to the country from 16 to 30 June 2008. The mission report (A/HRC/11/2/Add.5) was presented to the Human Rights Council at its 11th session in June 2009. Despite there being much to commend about the United States’ record in relation to extrajudicial killings, several areas requiring significant improvement were identified in the mission report. Since the country visit, improvements have been made in certain areas. On the domestic level, while significant progress has been made in better tracking and responding to deaths in immigration detention, some problem areas have either been addressed insufficiently or not at all. These relate mainly to due process in the imposition of the death penalty, the situation of Guantánamo Bay detainees, accountability failures for unlawful deaths due to the Government’s international operations and lack of transparency regarding the legal framework and targeting choices for targeted killings. 1 In 2006, the previous mandate holder initiated follow-up reports on country visits to assess the extent to which States implement recommendations. 4 GE.12-12544 A/HRC/20/22/Add.3 III. Domestic issues A. Due process in death penalty cases 6. The mission report highlighted several deficiencies that increase the risk of innocent individuals being executed erroneously in the United States, and which raise concerns about the fairness of judicial proceedings and racial discrimination.2 1. Imposition of the death penalty 7. According to available figures, some 3,251 people are currently on death row in the United States.3 It is widely acknowledged that innocent individuals have very likely been sentenced to death and executed in the United States.4 The 2008 country visit focused largely on the death penalty in Alabama and Texas, both of which have extremely high rates of executions.5 The Special Rapporteur concluded that, in both states, there was a “shocking lack of urgency with regard to the need to reform glaring criminal justice flaws.”6 Information received for the present report does not indicate that reform proposals are under way. 8. Nevertheless, some positive steps should be underscored with respect to other states. People continue to be exonerated,7 and figures available suggest a continuous decline in death sentences over the past decade.8 Evidence of growing frustration with the death penalty can be gleaned from opinion polls, the fact that fewer death sentences are being handed down by juries, and legislative activity has increased with a higher number of bills calling for an end to the death penalty in several states.9 Senate Bill 3539, adopted on 9 March 2011, abolished the death penalty in Illinois, bringing the number of states which have abolished the death penalty to 16 out of 5010, thus taking a step in the direction of a 2 See examples in Richard C. Dieter, Struck by Lightning: The Continuing Arbitrariness of the Death Penalty Thirty-Five Years After Its Re-instatement in 1976, Report of the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) (Washington D.C., July 2011) pp. 5-9. 3 NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Death Row U.S.A., Winter 2011, p. 1, available from http://naacpldf.org/files/publications/DRUSA_Winter_2011.pdf. 4 A/HRC/11/2/Add.5, para. 7; also DPIC, The Death Penalty in 2010: Year End Report, December 2010, p. 3, available from http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/2010YearEnd-Final.pdf. 5 Equal Justice Initiative fact sheets on death sentencing